We flew out on Valentine's day. The boys all had their backpacks filled with fun things to do. This was the first trip on an airplane that Christopher could remember, and he was so excited. He kept squealing out the window.
We stayed at my Aunt Dede and Uncle Harry's place. The weather was nice, with snow off and on, making for great skiing.
Zachary had ski school for the first day one, while Pete and I took a private lesson together. I nearly had a panic attack when I heard at pick up that Zach's class spent the day on black diamond and double black diamond runs! To quote my Aunt Dede "the only diamonds I am interested in are the ones I can wear on my finger." Way to go Zach! He basically kicked mine and Peter's butt the rest of the week on the slopes, pushing us to do much harder runs then we ever would have done on our own. I predict that next year he will refuse to even ski with us.
Christopher spent the week in the resort day care. At 3 1/2 yrs, we decided it wasn't worth putting him up on skis just yet. He had a bit of a rough time adjusting at first, but was having a blast by the end of the week. I picked him up each day, and we enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies together, while waiting for the rest of the group to finish skiing. Next year will be his turn to be on skis.
Vinnie spent the week in ski school for the second year. He did so in typical Vinnie fashion. His daily pick up report commented on how he got distracted eating snow, prompting the rest of his class to follow suit until his teacher had to call a ban on snow eating. One day we took off his helmet to find another childs missing glove on top of his head. Still not sure how that happened. We also heard about his great air guitar skills, which he used to entertain the group at lunchtime, with the girls in his class as back up singers. And by the way, he was a great skier conquering blue runs by the end of the week.
Joey went to ski school for 3 days, and did great as well. On the 4th day he skied with my Aunt Dede and his cousin Kelly. On the final day he skied with Pete, Zachary and I. Interestingly, he skied a bit more cautiously this year than last. I am not sure if he just hit an age where he knew to be more afraid. He did fine keeping up with us though, even going on one of the easier black diamond runs with Zachary. I am looking forward to seeing what he does next year!
The fun didn't end with skiing. The kids enjoyed the outdoor hot tub (Brrr....) in the evenings, along with movies in the movie theater. One night when the kids all came back upstairs for dessert I noticed Christopher was missing and went to find him. This is where I found him--sound asleep on the staircase halfway up. Poor kid!
My aunt and uncle's place is amazing, with incredible views of downtown Park City. We feel so honored to be allowed back every year!
Pete and I took the kids out to dinner and ice cream one night. My cousin Kelly was there for the week, and the boys had a great time hanging out with her again.
Here are the boys, all ready for their last day of skiing. Pete and I have mastered the art of getting the 4 of them (5 if you count Kelly), in their ski clothes, sunscreen on, and all their gear together in time for ski school. We did not have to make a single trip back to the house for anything!
Good bye Utah and Aunt Dede and Uncle Harry!! Thanks for another fun family vacation. We hope to be invited back next year. I promise to bring a tranquilizer gun for the boys!
